Survey Research at Harvard

Related Centers/Programs at Harvard

Other centers and programs at Harvard often use survey data as the focus of research or programming.

National Bureau of Economic Research

The National Bureau of Economic Research is located in Cambridge.  In adition to providing extensive analysis of business and economic data, they operate the Boston area Census Research Data Center, which is available to qualified researchers. Link: http://www.nber.org/

The Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey

Provides details of the survey: questions asked, reports, survey methods, and affiliates.  Attempts to find the level of connectedness amongst members of American communities. Link: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro/communitysurvey

The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in American

The Seminar is an ongoing initiative of Professor Robert D. Putnam at the Kennedy School of Government. The project focuses on expanding what we know about our levels of trust and community engagement and on developing strategies and efforts to increase this engagement. Link: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro

Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston

Attempts to improve Greater Boston's governance by connecting scholars, students, and civic leaders.  The Kennedy School has pursued this through promoting community service, producing new ideas, and creating open forums for discussion. Link: http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/rappaport

The Institute for Quantitative Social Science

Foster development within the social sciences field; offer advanced statistical and analytical tools. Link: http://www.iq.harvard.edu/

The Institute of Politics Survey Group

Researches the fall and spring polls on student engagement and attitudes toward politics and public service. Link: http://www.iop.harvard.edu/Programs/Surveys

Harvard Opinion Research Program

Assesses people's attitudes with respect to their knowledge, values, and experiences.  Researchers within this program have contributed to over 300 surveys within the US and 15 other countries. Link: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/horp

Adapting Statistical Methods for Public Research

The goal of this project is to analyze some existing statistical methods in public health, import relevant ones from other fields, and develop new ones to facilitate the analysis of available data. Link: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/burdenofdisease/StatisticalMethods.htm

General Survey Reference

General Survey Reference

  • Biemer, Paul P. and Lyberg, Lars E. Introduction to Survey Quality. Chichester, England: Wiley, 2003.
  • Fink, A., The Survey Research Handbook - How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1983.
  • Fowler, Floyd J., Jr. Survey Research Methods (2nd.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1993.
  • Groves, Robert M., F J Fowler, Mick P. Couper, James M. Lepkowski, Eleanor Singer, and R Tourangeau. Survey Methodology. New York, NY: Wiley. 2004.
  • Rossi, P., Wright, J., and Anderson, A. (eds.). Handbook of Survey Research. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1983.
  • Weisberg, Krosnick, Bowen. An Introduction to Survey Research, Polling, and Data Analysis (3rd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1996.
  • Weisberg, Herbert. The Total Survey Error Approach: A Guide to the New Science of Survey Research. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2005

Questionnaire Design

  • Belson, William A. The Design and Understanding of Survey Questions. Aldershot, Hants, England: Gower, 1981.
  • Fowler, F.J. Jr. Improving Survey Questions: Design and Evaluation, Applied Social Research Methods Series Volume 38. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1995.
  • Payne, Stanley. The Art of Asking Questions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, 1980.
  • Schuman, H. and Presser, S. Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys. New York, NY: Academic Press, 1981.
  • Sudman, S., & Bradburn, N. Asking questions: A practical guide to questionnaire design. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1982.

Survey Sampling/Survey Error

  • Cochran, William. Sampling Techniques. New York, NY: Wiley, 1977.
  • Fink, A. How to sample in surveys. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1995.
  • Groves, Robert M. Survey Errors and Survey Costs (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology). Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 2004.
  • Groves, Robert M., et al. Survey Nonresponse (Wiley Series in Survey Methodology). Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, Ltd, 2001.
  • Henry, G. T. Practical sampling. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1990.
  • Kalton, G. An Introduction to Survey Sampling. SAGE Publications: Thousand Oaks, CA, 1983.
  • Kish, Leslie. Survey Sampling. New York, NY: Wiley-Interscience, New Ed edition January 20, 1995.
  • Lohr, Sharon. Sampling: Design and Analysis. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press, 1999.
  • Lyberg, L., and Kasprzyk, D. Survey Measurement and Process Quality. New York, NY: Wiley, 1997.

Select Funding Opportunities

Survey Analysis Software